


Hallowe’en, Then and Now

by tablelamp



Category: MASH (TV)
Genre: Different time periods, Halloween, You can read it as Hawkeye/Charles or gen, whichever you prefer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-10-25 14:37:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20725841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tablelamp/pseuds/tablelamp
Summary: Hawkeye was doing the bare minimum for Hallowe’en.  He didn’t want to scare these kids.  He knew these kids.  He’d painted on Groucho Marx eyebrows and a mustache and answered the door waggling his eyebrows and holding a cigar.





	Hallowe’en, Then and Now

**Author's Note:**

  * For [blueteak](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueteak/gifts).

_Crabapple Cove, Before Korea_

Hawkeye was doing the bare minimum for Hallowe’en. He didn’t want to scare these kids. He knew these kids. He’d painted on Groucho Marx eyebrows and a mustache and answered the door waggling his eyebrows and holding a cigar. The kids seemed to get a kick out of it, so he figured it was okay.

In between trick or treaters, he sat with his father in the living room.

“When do you ship out?” his father asked.

“End of next week,” Hawkeye answered.

His father nodded. “That soon.” He didn’t sound surprised.

Hawkeye didn’t know how to have this talk. “Yeah, that soon. I guess they need doctors over there.”

“I’m sure you’ll do a lot of good,” his father said.

Hawkeye chuckled. “I’ll try.”

“Try to come home.”

Hawkeye looked at his father, startled, to see if he was joking, but the expression on his face was completely serious.

“Try to come home,” his father repeated. “We need you here.”

He’d thought a lot about how hard this was going to be for him, but it was beginning to sink in how hard this would be for his dad—wondering how he was, waiting for news. Always waiting. “I have to come home. Who’s going to take over the Pierce family business? I want to be the ‘and son’ on the sign outside your office.”

His father reached over and rested a hand on his shoulder, giving it a few awkward pats. “Good boy.”

They didn’t say anything else. There was nothing more to say.

***

_Korea_

“Ah, yes, it’s that day, isn’t it?” Charles said as he came into the tent.

Hawkeye hadn’t known what day of the week it was for at least two weeks. “What day?”

“I believe the term your people use is, ‘Happy Hallowe’en,’” Charles said, looking smug. Although maybe that was just his face.

“What does your family do for Hallowe’en, Charles?” Hawkeye said. “Hand out the second-best silver to trick or treaters?”

“Certainly not,” Charles said, looking insulted. “We might need the second-best silver.”

“Of course. How silly of me,” Hawkeye said. Sometimes he suspected Charles said these things to him on purpose, to distract him from whatever was going on in the camp. It was nice to have something else to think about, even if the something else was just throwing casual insults around.

Charles harrumphed, opening a small box and tossing something to Hawkeye. “I believe these are in order.”

Hawkeye caught the small bag, surprised that Charles would give him anything. He opened the bag to find square chocolates, but not just any chocolates. He looked at Charles, stunned. “Needhams?”

Charles nodded. “I’ve been reasonably assured they are.”

Hawkeye shook his head, taking one of the chocolates out of the bag. “How did you know about Needhams? My grandmother used to make these.” 

Charles was doing his best to look nonchalant. “Honoria told me she was taking a trip up the coast. I asked her to research some of the local confectionery.”

He’d asked his sister to buy candy for Hawkeye? That suggested a level of thoughtfulness that Hawkeye hadn’t been aware Charles possessed. Hawkeye took a bite, and the Needham was just as delicious as he’d remembered, the coconut and chocolate blended in a sweet mixture. It reminded him so keenly of sitting at his grandmother’s table eating dessert that he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “These are wonderful. Thank you.”

“No need to be maudlin about it,” Charles said, though he looked just a little pleased with himself.

Hawkeye held out the bag. “Do you want one?”

Charles made a face. “I prefer my candy without potatoes in it, thank you very much.”

Hawkeye shrugged. “You say potato, I say delicious. It’s like a Mounds bar, but more homemade.” He took another bite, closing his eyes to savor the taste.

“We all long for home sometimes,” Charles said, sounding unusually reflective.

Hawkeye opened his eyes, seeing no mockery at all in Charles’s face. He nodded slowly. “Yeah, we do.”

Next year he was gonna find out what they had for candy in Massachusetts and get some of that for Charles. It was only fair.

***

_Crabapple Cove, After Korea_

Hawkeye couldn’t quite believe he was home for Hallowe’en again. It made Korea feel a little like a bad dream. He’d gone into practice with his dad not long after he’d come back to Maine. It was a long way from emergency medicine, but Hawkeye liked that about it.

He had an old pair of scrubs that he was wearing for his costume this year, much to his father’s consternation. 

“You can’t dress as a doctor,” his father protested. “You ARE a doctor.”

“Ah, but I’m not a doctor who wears scrubs,” Hawkeye said.

Hawkeye’s father simply shook his head, used to Hawkeye’s sense of whimsy by now. Hawkeye wondered exactly when his father had started taking Hallowe’en so seriously.

The doorbell rang, and Hawkeye got to his feet. “I’ll get it, Dad.”

He opened the door to find Charles standing there.

“Hi,” Hawkeye said, surprised.

“Good evening,” Charles said, looking supremely uncomfortable.

“If you’ve come to toilet-paper the house, you’re too late. That’s my job,” Hawkeye said. “Or are you here for the candy?”

His jokes seemed to relax Charles a little, and he gave Hawkeye one of those tiny tight-lipped smiles. “How droll. No, I’ve left the service, and I thought I would pay you a visit. I recognize it’s exceedingly ill-mannered of me to arrive without an invitation, but...”

“But?” Hawkeye prompted.

Charles looked uncomfortable again. “But I wasn’t entirely sure I’d be welcome. Hence the, er, trick or treating, where my appearance on your doorstep can be momentary.”

Hawkeye smiled, opening the door further. “Come on in. Meet my dad.”

Charles grimaced. “If you’re with your family, I can...”

“No, no, he’ll be glad to meet you,” Hawkeye said, leaning into the living room. “Hey, Dad, come meet Winchester the Third.”

“CHARLES Winchester the Third,” Charles said.

“You can call him King Charles for short. He comes from a long line of spaniels.” Hawkeye gestured Charles forward. “Come in.”

“Are you one of Hawkeye’s doctor friends?” Hawkeye’s father asked.

Charles opened his mouth to reply, but Hawkeye got there first. “A little more than that, Dad. He lived in the Swamp with me.”

His father held out his hand for a handshake. “I’m proud to meet you.”

Charles seemed surprised by the warm reception, but he shook hands with Hawkeye’s father. “Thank you. I feel as though I’ve met you by proxy. Hawkeye spoke of you often.”

“Well,” Hawkeye’s father said, clearly touched but just as clearly never going to admit it. “I’m glad you both made it home safe.” He held out a plate of chocolates. “Needham?”

Hawkeye’s laughter almost drowned out Charles’s groan. Almost.


End file.
